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Jeb Bush's 'act of love' remark gets love from Flake

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's remark that some illegal immigration is "an act of love" has drawn flak from some immigration-reform critics, but Arizona's Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain support the sentiment.(Photo: Republic file photo)

After former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called some illegal immigration "an act of love," the potential 2016 Republican presidential contender drew a combination of criticism and ridicule from many "amnesty" opponents.

But Arizona's two GOP U.S. senators are sympathetic. In a Monday Facebook post, U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., wrote that he agreed with Bush "and I applaud him for having the guts to say it." On Friday, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., quibbled with Bush's wording but generally supported the sentiment.

"What I believe that Jeb Bush should have said was they came for the same reason why our forebears came: because of the opportunity for a better life, and to love this country," McCain told The Arizona Republic after an Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry luncheon during which he and Flake made a forceful case for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform. "Words matter, I know, but I believe if he had said it right — they came here because they love their families and they want to have a better life — that's the story of America."

Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush, made his comments earlier this month during an event at his father's namesake library and museum. He explained that many immigrants cross the border without authorization to keep their families intact and make sure their children had "food on the table." They needed to find work in the United States so they could support their families, he said.

"Yes, they broke the law, but it's not a felony. It's an act of love," Bush said.

Flake on Friday told The Republic that he wouldn't change a word of Bush's quote. "I think in the context that he presented it in, it's just right," Flake said. "He said that some people who come, do it out of an act of love. I don't disagree with that at all. I agree with it."

McCain and Flake were two members of the "Gang of Eight" who collaborated on an immigration-reform package that passed the Senate last year.

In other developments:

* McCain and Flake blasted Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher whose showdown with the federal government over grazing fees made him something of a star in some conservative circles but who subsequently made racially charged remarks about Black Americans.

"It's obvious that his comments are racist and he continues to make those kind of stupid statements," McCain told reporters Friday. "And I hope those people who aligned themselves with him will quickly divorce themselves from any association with him whatsoever. I've never had anything to do with him."

Flake likewise made it clear he was never a Bundy fan.

"He lost me at failure to pay his grazing fees, so I never thought that that was a model for people to rally behind," Flake said. "Obviously, there are public-lands issues that a lot of people have, but it doesn't justify not paying your grazing fees. And there's no justification, obviously, whatsoever, for the racist rant that he went on the other day."

* McCain on Saturday appeared with former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a possible 2016 Democratic presidential contender, at the annual "Sedona Forum" conference at the Enchantment Resort put on by the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. The McCain-Clinton event was invitation-only and closed to the media.

The theme of the Sedona Forum 2014 is "Crisis in the Middle East: Values, Strategy and Options." Other attendees expected at the Enchantment this weekend included U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.: Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; Angus King, I-Maine; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; and former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

* McCain, who still has not announced whether he will seek a sixth Senate term, said his campaign committee took in "well over $200,000" Thursday at a Phoenix fundraising reception for a possible re-election bid.

"I'm telling them to stand by," McCain said of the message he is giving his supporters. "I'm telling them to be prepared."

Nowicki is The Republic's national political reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @dannowicki.